(a) “Agency” means the commissioner acting directly or through his duly authorized officers, agents, representatives and employees, to perform duties and powers prescribed by the laws of this state to be performed by the Commissioner of Revenue or the Department of Revenue.

(b) “Board of Review” means the Board of Review of the Department of Revenue as appointed by the commissioner under Section 27-77-3, and also means a panel of the Board of Review when an appeal is considered by a panel of the Board of Review instead of the Board of Review en banc.

(c) “Board of Tax Appeals” means the Board of Tax Appeals as created under Section 27-4-1.

(d) “Chairman” means the Chairman of the Board of Tax Appeals.

(e) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue.

(f) “Denial” means the final decision of the staff of the agency to deny the claim, request for waiver or application being considered. In this context, staff of the agency does not include the Board of Review or the Board of Tax Appeals. “Denial” does not mean the act of returning or refusing to consider a claim, request for waiver or application for permit, IFTA license, IRP registration, title or tag by the staff of the agency due to a lack of information and/or documentation unless the return or refusal is in response to a representation by the person who filed the claim, request for waiver or application in issue that information and/or documentation indicated by the staff of the agency to be lacking cannot or will not be provided.

(g) “Designated representative” means an individual who represents a person in an administrative appeal before a hearing officer of the agency, before the Board of Review or before the Board of Tax Appeals.

(h) “Executive director” means the Executive Director of the Board of Tax Appeals.

(i) “IFTA license” means a permit, license or decal which the agency is authorized to issue or revoke under the Interstate Commercial Carriers Motor Fuel Tax Law (Section 27-61-1 et seq.) or the International Fuel Tax Agreement.

(j) “IFTA licensee” means a person holding the IFTA license, applying for an IFTA license or renewing an IFTA license.

(k) “IRP registration” means the registration of a vehicle under the provisions of the International Registration Plan.

(l) “IRP registrant” means a person in whose name a vehicle or vehicles are registered under the provisions of the International Registration Plan.

(m) “IRP credentials” means the cab card and license plate issued by the commissioner or agency in accordance with the International Registration Plan.

(n) “Last known address” when referring to the mailing of a notice of intent to suspend, revoke or to order the surrender and/or seizure of the permit, IFTA license, IRP registration, IRP credentials, tag or title or to the mailing of a denial of the permit, IFTA license, IRP registration, tag or title, means the last mailing address of the person being sent the notice as it appears on the record of the agency in regard to the permit, IFTA license, IRP registration, tag or title in issue. All other references to “last known address” in this chapter mean the official mailing address that the hearing officer, the Board of Review or the executive director has for the addressee in their file on the administrative appeal in which the document or item is being mailed to the addressee. The addressee is presumed to have received any document or item mailed to his official mailing address. The commissioner, by regulation, shall prescribe the procedure for establishing an official mailing address in the administrative appeal process for appeals before an administrative hearing officer or the Board of Review of the Department of Revenue and the procedure for changing that official mailing address. The Board of Tax Appeals, by regulation, shall prescribe the procedure for establishing an official mailing address in the administrative appeal process before that board and the procedure for changing that official mailing address. It is the responsibility of the addressee to make sure that his official mailing address is correct.

(o) “Mail,” “mailed” or “mailing” means placing the document or item referred to in United States mail, postage prepaid, via mail, addressed to the person to whom the document or item is to be sent at the last known address of that person. Where a person is represented in an administrative appeal before a hearing officer, the Board of Review or the Board of Tax Appeals by a designated representative, the terms “mail,” “mailed” or “mailing” when referring to sending a document or item to that person shall also mean placing the document or item referred to in United States mail, via mail, postage prepaid, to the last known address of that person’s designated representative. Mailing to the designated representative of a taxpayer, permittee, IFTA licensee, IRP registrant, tag holder or title interest holder shall constitute mailing and notice to the taxpayer, permittee, IFTA licensee, IRP registrant, tag holder or title interest holder.

(p) “Permit” means a type of license or permit that the agency is authorized to issue, suspend or revoke, such as a sales tax permit, a beer permit, a tobacco permit, a dealer license, or designated agent status, but does not include:

(i) Any type of permit issued under the Local Option Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, Section 67-1-1 et seq. or under the Mississippi Native Wine Law of 1976, Section 67-5-1 et seq.;

(ii) An IFTA license; or

(iii) An IRP registration, including the IRP credential issued as a result of IRP registration.

(q) “Permittee” means a person holding a permit, applying for a permit or renewing a permit.

(r) “Person” means a natural person, partnership, limited partnership, corporation, limited liability company, estate, trust, association, joint venture, other legal entity or other group or combination acting as a unit, and includes the plural as well as the singular in number. “Person” includes the state, county, municipal, other political subdivision and any agency, institution or instrumentality thereof, but only when used in the context of a taxpayer, permittee, IFTA licensee, IRP registrant, tag holder or title interest holder.

(s) “Refund claim” means a claim made in writing by a taxpayer and received by the agency wherein the taxpayer indicates that he overpaid taxes to the agency and requests a refund of the overpayment and/or a credit against current or future taxes for the overpayment.

(t) “Resident,” when used to describe a taxpayer or petitioner, means a natural person whose residence and place of abode is within the State of Mississippi.

(u) “Tag” means a type of license tag, plate or registration card for a motor vehicle or trailer that the agency is authorized under the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Privilege Tax Law, Section 27-19-1 et seq., or under the Motor Vehicle Dealer Tag Permit Law, Section 27-19-301 et seq., to issue or approve before issuance, but does not include other types of license tags or plates issued by the county tax collectors except for personalized license tags and only to the extent that the agency determines under Section 27-19-48 that a personalized license tag applied for is considered obscene, slandering, insulting or vulgar in ordinary usage or demands the surrender or orders the seizure of the tag where issued in error.

(v) “Tag holder” means the person in whose name a tag is registered or the person applying for a tag.

(w) “Tag penalty” means the penalties imposed under Sections 27-19-63 and 27-51-43 for any delinquency in the payment of motor vehicle privilege tax and ad valorem tax on a motor vehicle which can be waived by the agency for good reason shown. Pursuant to Section 27-51-103, imposition of this ad valorem tag penalty at the maximum rate of twenty-five percent (25%) also results in ineligibility for the credit against motor vehicle ad valorem taxes provided by that statute. Waiver of the twenty-five percent (25%) delinquency penalty by the agency under Section 27-51-43 shall reinstate credit eligibility.

(x) “Tax” means a tax, fee, penalty and/or interest which the agency is required by either general law or by local and private law to administer, assess and collect.

(y) “Taxpayer” means a person who is liable for or paid any tax to the agency.

(z) “Title” means a title to a motor vehicle or manufactured housing issued by the agency under the Mississippi Motor Vehicle Title Law, Section 63-21-1 et seq.

(aa) “Title interest holder” shall mean the owner or lienholder in a motor vehicle or manufactured housing as indicated on a title issued by the agency or as indicated on an application to the agency for the issuance of a title.